Any Teachers? Time off questions

[Aspencer21]

Hello-

I was just interested in seeing if there are any teachers out there who take time off during the school year for hunting trips. I'm 27 years old and currently live and teach shop in western New York. I have enough days off to get my whitetail tags punched in my home state but would like to start heading out west for hunts. Just seeing how others school districts handled taking a weeks time or more off at once. I have the personal/sick time so I feel I should be able to use it how I deem necessary. I wish I could trade a month off in summer for a month off in the fall.

Thanks for the input

 

[Bubblehide]

I'm a School Psychologist, so my situation is a bit different. The number of days I work are contracted. For most districts they range from about 180 to 200 days per school year. As long as I get everything done in a timely manner, I have had no problem getting time off. However, since my job deals with legally mandated timelines, I need to be sure I have covered everything during my leave. I also need to keep in mind that if something unexpected comes up, I may have to alter or cancel my hunt. From what I have seen, here in several districts in Ca, as a teacher, you better have some years under your belt, and be in the good graces of the administration before asking for time off during the school year. even then, you better have detailed teaching plans and materials set up, along with a selected replacement individual that is highly valued by the administration, as they want a person actually teaching, rather than babysitting.

Can it be done, yes, is it advisable, usually not.

 

[tkaldahl2000]

I have three personal days a year, and they can't be scheduled to coincide with other days off like Thanksgiving. This is only my second year in this district, so I have not accrued very much sick leave. I try to keep one of my personal days in reserve, so my longest elk hunting trip will be four days.

 

[topher89]

My district gives 10 days a year. No differentiation between sick or vacation, they are just personal use days. For us, if you take off 5 or more days, your sub needs to be licensed in your specific area. I teach Social Studies so if I am out 5 days I need someone with the that license.

For the most part, if you...
1. Plan ahead (put in for the sub way in advance)
2. Let your team and principal know (again, way ahead)
3. Find an awesome sub and leave quality plans

you should be good.

I would not suggest ever using more than 5 days in a row. Your students need you and a sub can never replace you. It is also is a pain for the office staff and administrators so don't push your luck.

I would feel out your administrator, even if you "can" do something, it doesn't mean you will be free from consequences. We had a teacher take a whole week off during our state testing.... it was fine for her to that but was pain for everyone else and reflected poorly on her. It would be like taking off the Super Bowl, you just don't do it

 

[topher89]

I have three personal days a year, and they can't be scheduled to coincide with other days off like Thanksgiving. This is only my second year in this district, so I have not accrued very much sick leave. I try to keep one of my personal days in reserve, so my longest elk hunting trip will be four days.

3 days a year?!? Does that include sick time or is the separate?

 

[tkaldahl2000]

I get 9 days of sick leave as well.

 

[elkguide]

I get 9 days of sick leave as well.

That's pretty sweet.

Being self employed my boss is a jerk and won't give me any time off with pay! Sick or otherwise.

 

[topher89]

I get 9 days of sick leave as well.

Got it. I was thinking 3 days for the whole year would be tough. My district just gives us 10 days for sick and personal.

 

[topher89]

I would also add.... make sure everyone likes you.

We get enough time off as teachers and there are a lot of people (teachers and principals included) who will judge you for taking time off during the school year. A day here and there, no big deal but long periods of time get noticed. Taking a week off when you already get the summer, spring break, thanksgiving and 2 weeks at Christmas can tick people off.

Things need to be pretty solid for you to take off. I would love to bow hunt but the season here in CO is September which is at the beginning of the year. I see that as a very important time of year and do not take any time off in Sept to make sure things get off to a great start. Instead I rifle hunt in Oct or November and usually limit myself to a Monday or Friday to lengthen my weekends. I usually take off 1 Monday for Antelope, a Friday for Deer and a day or two for Elk.

 

[Jimbob]

I am a teacher before I am a hunter. I almost did not enter the teaching profession because of no time off during the fall for hunting. However I felt having a career I enjoyed was much better than working an "ok" job so I could get 2-3 weeks off in the fall.

What has resulted for me has been a huge blessing though. I work at a private First Nation school and hunting is encouraged. During November I am allowed to take the morning off to go shoot a deer to bring it into my science class for a fresh "dissection". I also had a great idea about bringing kids hunting. So for the last three years a fellow teacher and I have taken 5 students out for a week in September moose hunting and one lucky student gets to be the shooter. Also I teach outdoor ed and we are in the bush for half the day, outdoor cooking, survival skills, trapping, making maple syrup etc.

I am never sick so I have only taken 3 sick days in 7 years. My personal belief is that sick days are there for when you are sick they are NOT vacation days. I am not ENTITLED to these days if I am not sick. Now if your contract/agreement/policy says they are personal days to use however you want and the boss and school culture is cool with it then awesome.

Having said all of that I am leaving this job and moving west this summer. Not for the benefits of a better job or better hunting but for the experience as a family. Hunting season in BC starts Aug 1st for sheep and goats and a few seasons go right through christmas break. If my son or I draw a bison tag we could hunt on christmas break. So I guess some areas will work better for teachers.


What it comes down is that teaching is a great job. I love all of the time off, having the summer off to spend with your family is amazing. We went on a 29 day road trip last summer, how many professions can you do this with only 6 yrs experience. More importantly though is that I love the time at work as well. I have seen young boys turn into men right in front of me and I get to be part of that process. So I will give up the week off in September, October, or November to do some meaningful and fantastic work.

 

[bojangles808]

I am in my 2nd year teaching elementary and we get 6 personal days a year that do not accrue. sick pay does accrue i cant remember how much we get but i want to say its a similar amount. I started off this 2nd year with about 96 hours i think (last 2 years combined i never called out last year). I think a lot depends on your administration and school culture. if your principal is lax, likes you and you see other teachers taking a week off here or there than its probably not a big deal as long as you get a reputable sub and take care of your plans and all that good stuff. If you don't see anyone taking lengthy periods of time off though and admin runs a tighter ship I would be wary. Ask around some of the veteran teachers you are close with I'm sure theyll tell you how it is.

Personally though I'm not planning anything lengthy during school time until I have tenure (after 3 years) and have at least a couple more years under my belt. I'm fortunate that we get a fall break (usually beginning october that should line up with wyomings season if i want to try that) and the 2 weeks around christmas i could try otc mule deer in arizona. OUr axis deer rut here in may-july so thats perfect for me but for out west I'll just be patient and keep building points until the time is right. eventually im going to want to to chase rutting elk with my bow in september

 

[airlocksniffer]

Off topic but thank you to all the public school teachers out there. A job that isn't held to the high regard by most folks as it should be.

 

[mfolch]

Off topic but thank you to all the public school teachers out there. A job that isn't held to the high regard by most folks as it should be.

x2. I'm a professor, and I'm personally grateful for the years real teachers spend devoted to our students. In my situation canceling a class or two in advance is not a problem and it frees a week or more for hunting. I wonder if it makes sense to find somewhere where you can hunt over the summer. Fwiw I get my outdoor fix over the summer by solo hiking.

 

[E-2]

5 personal and 10 sick here. Personal leave not used rolls into sick leave.

To take a week;

My Lesson plans better be spot on and since I teach a computer based class, there better be a back-up lesson.

It also likely won't be an every year adventure. I am able to take a full week about every 2-3 years and not get dirty looks. Any other time you miss will also play into whether or not missing a week every year is a big deal. I have kids and they get sick. We are a young family so Mamma doesn't have much sick leave, which puts me on sick duty just about every time. There are always other factors that determine the outcomes of things.

 

[Aspencer21]

Thanks for the input everyone. Like E-2 said this would probably be an every three year thing.

 

[E Wa Hunter]

I teach, and have been in Special Education for the last 10 years, which make leaving a HUGE PITA. My plan is usually an every 2 or 3 years deal, this is because I can accrue my personal leave to get a whole week off, other than that it is all a weekend show for me. I can only stress the huge keys for getting it to work for your class are planning and set up, finding a good sub that you can trust and that is good with kids, being up front with admin (all the ones I have worked for are cool as long as you are up front and honest with them). It is a good profession but does limit your hunting time, find good weekend areas that are close and you can still do quite a bit of hunting, also don't just limit your self to big game, there are lots of seasons for birds, prey, turkey, and fishing that are easier to work into weekends.

 

[topher89]

I use my summer time and other breaks to scout and find great areas. This helps me make sure that the weekends that I can hunt really count.